At the Balenciaga runway show, the air was filled with questions: "What is luxury? What is fashion, and why does it continue to be relevant? For whom am I doing this? Is fashion sufficient?" These reflections, voiced by Demna through an audio note, echoed throughout the venue. They were questions posed not in search of direct answers but to spur personal contemplation. Luxury, by definition, is associated with what is rare, with something that will not always be available. But it is creativity that seems truly rare and ‘at a standstill’ at the moment. "And I think that creativity has become a new form of luxury," he continued. With the Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show at Paris Fashion Week, Demna presented a kind of satirical take on consumerism, featuring tags still attached to clothes, pieces created from layering other garments, and items bought on eBay, delivered to the show's guests. It raises the critical question: Why do we have more than we need, and why does even that never seem to be enough?
What does too much mean? When does it cross into being too much? It's already too much! But there's no possibility of return. There's no going back when it comes to consumption. However, asking questions is a responsibility we must not shy away from because it's the only way to ensure the future. From Demna's perspective, voicing such an opinion might seem paradoxical. The designer left the tags on clothing - as if they had been forgotten in the wardrobe, fashioned garments from old lingerie or by piecing together different items, and wrapped others in tape as if they were still in their packaging. The manner through which the garments interacted with the body championed the message's intensity.
At the Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2024-2025 presentation, held within the ornate surroundings of Les Invalides in Paris, a series of giant screens took center stage. These screens showcased an array of images, ranging from natural landscapes to the bright lights of big cities, spanning dawn to dusk, and oscillating between the real and the artificial, including the space in between. This endless scrolling underscored the idea that reflections can find their place anywhere.
"This collection is a journey through the aesthetic that has guided my evolution in fashion over the past ten years. It's about the feeling of identification and belonging to this aesthetic," Demna shared. And one only needs to think of the visual lexicon (among other things) of the 2000s to understand. The collection featured elements like chewing gum, charm-filled chokers, and keychains marked with addresses in clear black on white, alongside plastic headbands, vests tied with a bow at the neck, lace leggings, and the very Italian 'Ciao Bello' on shirts. These motifs extended to sweaters bearing inscriptions such as ‘Keep calm and wear this Balenciaga sweater’ complete with a crown, alongside nods to the eBay phenomenon and tribal prints on clothing, skinny jeans embellished with studs and chains. The runway was chock-full of millennial identification symbols, with a hint of non-subversive that makes them alluring once again.
For the show's attendees, the virtual invitation to the show doubled as a purchase confirmation for a keychain adorned with the Eiffel Tower and the word Paris, a romantic keepsake from the city of love. Meanwhile, the Balenciaga team made purchases on eBay, meticulously choosing items to send to each guest. Among the treasures were puppies and porcelain dolls, silver plates and candlesticks, vintage earrings, rare Vogue editions, charming glass animals, scarves, and wine carafes. And what was sent to Kim Kardashian? None other than Sade's Diamond Life album. By partnering with an online sales giant, Demna prompted us to reflect on accumulation.
A label's message is often conveyed not just through its designs - but sometimes primarily - through the guests seated in the front row. Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams, Vittoria Ceretti, Isabelle Huppert, Eva Herzigova, Ashley Graham, Stella Maxwell, and Joan Smalls were just some of the names that personified the essence of Balenciaga with their attendance, perfectly highlighting the intimate relationship between skin and clothing.
Originally found on Vogue.It.
Translated by Nafiseh Soolari
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